Travis Scott sued over ‘preventable tragedy’ at Houston festival

Travis Scott and organizers of Friday’s deadly Astroworld music festival in Texas are facing at least one lawsuit from an injured attendee. 

The lawsuit comes after eight people were killed and dozens were injured Friday night when fans surged toward the stage at the festival. 

Manuel Souza, a festival attendee, sued Scott as well as organizer ScoreMore and Live Nation in a petition filed in Harris County District Court on Saturday, calling the festival a “predictable and preventable tragedy,” according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by The Hill. 

Souza’s case alleges the crowd surge was “a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety” and an “encouragement of violence.”

Local officials said that 11 of the 17 people who went to the hospital suffered cardiac arrest. A field hospital was also created to check hundreds of people for injuries.

“Travis Scott has a history of inciting violence and creating dangerous conditions for concertgoers,” Souza’s attorneys from Kherkher Garcia said in a statement to The Hill. 

“In fact, he tweeted that he would let the wild ones in after the show sold out. He and those who promoted and supported this concert must take responsibility for their heinous actions,” they added. “No one should ever attend a concert in fear. This must stop.”

The statement references a tweet from Scott on May 5, 2021, in which he said that “WE STILL SNEAKING THE WILD ONES IN” after the Astroworld concert sold out quickly. 

“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Scott said on Saturday in a statement about the incident. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”

A video from the festival showed Scott stopping his show a few times and instructing security to help his fans. However, he ultimately finished his performance and has received online backlash for doing so.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist an investigation into the deadly festival.